First Mercantile Hosts Retirement Plan Workshops to Help Investment Professionals Build Their Practices

MEMPHIS, Tenn., Aug. 18 /PRNewswire/ -- First Mercantile, a premier collective investment trust recordkeeper, hosted Retirement Plan and Wealth Management training workshops in Minneapolis, Minn. and Newport, R.I. on July 20th and 29th.  These successful events featured First Mercantile speakers and the "Becoming a Rainmaker" program conducted by Matt Oechsli of the Oechsli Institute.

The Oechsli Institute specializes in helping financial professionals to better attract, service and develop loyal clients. As a leading provider of advisor-delivered retirement plans, First Mercantile's relationship with the Oechsli Institute represents a strengthening of their commitment to helping investment professionals power up their practice.

First Mercantile reports that 99% of workshop participants surveyed rated the clarity, usefulness of the information, handouts and speakers as "excellent" or "very good" and 100% responded that they would recommend the workshop to others.  Favorite topics included learning to source names, conducting small client events and asking for introductions, among other key sales practices.

Stan Label, First Mercantile vice president and national sales manager, reported that enthusiasm and interest ran very high from the participants at the workshops. "Many of the investment professionals in attendance told us they planned to put what they learned immediately to work to help them build their practice," said Label.  "They felt that the workshop was a great use of their time."

As a result of the tremendous response, First Mercantile has committed to hold three additional workshops in northern California, Washington, D.C., and southern California.

For more information about these workshops, contact First Mercantile at (800) 753-3682.

About First Mercantile

First Mercantile, one of the premier collective investment trust (CIT) recordkeepers in the United States, offers investment solutions for qualified retirement plans. Employing a due diligence process, First Mercantile Trust (FMT) searches the investment universe to select non-proprietary options suited for the investment platforms. CITs are sub-advised by institutional money managers, or invest in mutual funds or exchange traded funds (ETFs). Also included on the investment platform are Dimensional Fund Advisor (DFA) investments, Lifestyle and Target Date options. First Mercantile acts in a fiduciary capacity with respect to the management of the assets of the collective investment trust. The Advisor Review Committee oversees the entire due diligence process, which includes qualitative and quantitative analysis.

These investment products are distributed through solid relationships with quality investment consultants and third party administrators. First Mercantile offers robust fee disclosure and transparency with a flexible and competitive cost structure. FMT has a national network of seasoned, knowledgeable professionals to provide excellent client service, customer care and support.

© 2010 First Mercantile. MassMutual Financial Group is a marketing name for Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual) and its affiliated companies and sales representatives. www.firstmerc.com.

SOURCE First Mercantile